


Misunderstandings

by taberune



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2060427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taberune/pseuds/taberune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin notices that Ai has been coming up with excuse after excuse and disappearing at random - even he can see that something's up. With the new room assignments, Rin doesn't get to see Ai as much as it is, and with Ai's new secret excursions, he doesn't get to see Ai much at all. </p>
<p>With every new excuse Ai comes up with, Rin gets more and more paranoid and frustrated. Rin's mind isn't helping, offering several worst-case scenarios for him to ponder. Hopefully this is just one, big misunderstanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently it is Rintori week. How do these things get decided? Is there an OTP Week Queen or something? I was going to post this some time later, but in honor of the first day of Rintori week, I've decided to just go ahead and upload this. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

Nitori was acting weird. Well, weirder than usual. He kept disappearing for long periods of time, and he was avoiding Rin. Not to mention, he kept sprouting up with lies, and everyone knew how horrible he was at lying.

It had started a week ago, when Ai went out on a trip with the younger Mikoshiba to ‘bond’ with his new roommate. When he didn’t return after an hour to show up at Rin’s door to say goodnight as he usually did (it had slowly become a habit), Rin stalked angrily to the door across from his and rapped hard on the wood. The door swung open almost immediately, revealing an energetic, orange-haired kid, his eyes sparkling. “Oh! Rin-senpai! What are you doing here?”

A smile twitched on Rin’s face. His attitude was pretty contagious. “I’m looking for Nitori. He usually comes by around this time.”

A look of confusion formed on Momotarou’s face, his eyebrows furrowing, his mouth slipping into a near-frown. “But he’s with you. I mean, that’s what he told me. We came back a half-hour ago, now. He told me he was going to go to your place.”

Rin ran a hand through his hair quickly, his mind already filling with possible things Nitori was doing. “Was he acting weird?”

Momotarou began to shake his head before his mouth quickly dropped into an ‘O’, a look of sudden realization spreading across his face. “Well, I’m not sure you’d say this is weird, but Nitori was looking at his phone, and then he told me to go first, although he said he was going to visit you, and you live right across.”

The words came out in a quick flood, and Rin noticed that even after that, Momotarou wasn’t out of breath. “Whatever. Just tell him to come by when he gets back.”

Momotarou nodded and Rin walked back to his own room.

When he entered, he noticed that his roommate had returned (the dark-haired swimmer had mentioned something about going out with some of the swim team). Sousuke was lying on his bed, long legs dangling over the railing of the bunk bed. “Oi, Rin. Went to spend time with your boyfriend?” Sousuke grinned, tilting his head sideways to face his friend.

Rin glared at Sousuke, which only made him chuckle. It was true; Nitori and he had officially started dating a month and a bit back. He still wasn’t quite accustomed to the word yet, though. “Nitori’s somewhere… I don’t know. He’s not in his dorm.”

“Ooh, a mystery,” was the only thing Sousuke replied with before shoving his earphones back into his ears and pulling his PSP out.

Rin rolled his eyes, and ducked into his bunk, pulling out his glasses and a book he had to read for class. He was halfway into the third paragraph of the chapter he was reading before he realized that he couldn’t remember a single thing. He had been reading without really reading.

With a sigh, Rin pulled his glasses off and closed the book, slipping a sticky note to mark his spot. He could read it tomorrow, when his head was clearer. The assignment wasn’t due anytime soon.

*

The next morning, when Nitori waved him over to a table for breakfast, Rin was quick to ask where he had been the night before.

Nitori laughed nervously, “Oh, I told you, right? I went out with Momo.” He reached for a few napkins and discreetly – or what passed for discreetly in Nitori’s world – and began to wrap the flaking rolls in them.

Rin raised an eyebrow at his actions. “Momotarou said that you told him you were going to come to my room.”

The tips of Nitori’s ears turned pink and he quickly stuffed the rolls into the front pocket of his bag. “I j-just had something to do is all! Well, will you look at the time! I have to go, Rin-senpai, I don’t want to be late for class!” Nitori grabbed his tray and slotted it quickly into the tray rack before dashing out the doors of the cafeteria.

Rin walked slowly to his classroom (because, really, there was still twenty minutes before class started), wondering why Nitori’s reaction was so weird. He shook his head quickly to get rid of the thoughts when he reached the classroom.

After all, Nitori had to have a life outside of swimming and following him around. He flipped open a text book and quickly scribbled in some last minute answers for homework he didn’t complete the night before.

*

That evening, when Rin was heading out for his daily jog, he knocked on Nitori’s door and waited for him to get prepared as always.

Imagine his surprise when the silver-haired boy refused (though he did apologize profusely), saying that he was busy studying for a big biology test that was going to take place the next day.

Rin had heard the nervous murmurs from the rest of the second-year students, so he knew that Nitori wasn’t lying, but he also knew it wasn’t the complete truth. Tests had never stopped Nitori from joining him running before.

When Rin returned from his run and headed to Niotri’s room, he was only half surprised by the fact that Nitori wasn’t there.

He went back into his own room and just when he was about to sleep, there was a knock on the door, and when he opened it, his burgundy eyes were met with Nitori’s blue ones.

Nitori bid him goodnight, kissing him on the cheek, before retreating back to his room.

*

After a week of ‘Sorry, Rin-senpai, something came up’, and ‘I’m busy tonight, so I won’t be able to jog with you’, and various other excuses, Rin decided to follow his boyfriend to wherever he went. All he wanted were some answers.

Rin kept his door open at a slight angle so that he would be able to see if anyone went down the hall and out the doors, and sure enough, Nitori hurried out, glancing furtively around.

Rin followed at a safe distance, and when Nitori rounded a corner, he stayed behind it.

“Aw, I missed you so much,” he heard Nitori say, and a breath hitched in his throat.

“C’mere, you,” Rin’s heart started sinking. Who the hell was he even talking to?

“Mwah!” Rin bit his lip, listening to the giggles after the exaggerated kiss. He had heard enough to know what was going on. Straightening up, he quickly walked back to the dormitories.

Instead of going back to his room, he headed straight for his old one. He quickly kicked Momotarou out (“You can stay in my room tonight. I’m sure Sousuke wouldn’t mind. I need to talk to Nitori.”) and sat himself down on his old bunk.

About fifteen minutes had passed when the door opened and Nitori entered. Although he was surprised, he recovered quickly and greeted Rin.

Instead of returning the ‘hello’, Rin said, “I know what you’ve been doing Ai.”

Nitori froze. He was bent over, as he had been reaching for his pajamas, which were lying in a wrinkled heap on the floor. “I-I can explain, senpai.”

Rin shook his head. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Nitori’s eyes were wide. “But I couldn’t!”

“If you wanted to see someone else, you should have just said! You’re my boyfriend, but if that doesn’t mean anything to you, I’d rather you told me instead of going behind my back!”

Nitori stood up straight, an eyebrow cocked in confusion. “Wait, what do you think I’ve been doing?”

“You’ve been cheating on me... haven’t you?”

Nitori frowned and then burst out laughing. “I’m a little disappointed that you’d think I would ever cheat on you, senpai.”

He quickly offered his hand to Rin, pulling him up and out the door when he accepted it. “I’ll show you what I’ve been doing.”

Nitori and Rin quickly rounded the corner where Rin had previously been eavesdropping, and Nitori quickly fell down onto his knees. When he straightened, he was holding something in his arms.

“Look!” Nitori beamed, thrusting the thing into Rin’s face. “I found it!”

“What the fu – ” Rin stopped, mid sentence. “Wait, this is a cat.”

Nitori nodded happily, cuddling it. “I found it last week, when I went out with Momo. I couldn’t leave him all alone, so I’ve been taking care of it!”

Rin exhaled deeply. Then, without warning, he burst out laughing. He didn’t stop for quite a while, but when he did, he grabbed Nitori’s shoulder and pulled him into a hug (though it was a little awkward – there was a cat between them). “Thank God! You’re just as bad as Makoto. So, what’s it’s name?”

Nitori shrugged. “I didn’t give him one yet. I don’t want to get too attached.”

Rin looked at his kouhai as if he were from outer space. “You feed him and spend more than an hour with him per day. Don’t want to get too attached? Right,”he snorted.

Nitori pouted playfully. “Pets aren’t allowed at Samezuka, so I had to keep him a secret. Should we head back?”

Rin nodded, and Nitori carefully placed the cat back into the makeshift house he had created a few days ago. Rin slipped his hands into Nitori’s, fingers intertwining. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

Nitori squeezed his hand softly, smiling. “It’s alright.”

They were almost back to the room. “You know,” Nitori began, looking up at Rin. “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time you called me your boyfriend.”

Rin flushed a shade that matched his hair and looked away. “Well, you are, aren’t you?”

Nitori chuckled. “Well, you might have some competition - that cat is quite the suitor. But yes, I think I am.” Nitori gave Rin a quick peck on the cheek. “Goodnight, Rin-senpai.”


End file.
